Weeks 43 to 51: Catch up

As you can see from the title of this post... it's been a while since we last did an update on the blog, so I'll try and cover what we've been up to for the last few months. Firstly, a quick update on my dad... he had surgery last week to remove the tumour and he is making a good recovery. He's just been back to the hospital for a post-op check-up and they seem pleased with his progress and the results of the surgery. His eye sight seems to have improved a little but it can take several months, even up to a year to improve and at this stage we don't know how much better it will get... but we're keeping everything crossed it keeps getting better and he can get back behind the wheel in the not too distant future. In the mean time he has regular MRI scans to look forward too, as the doctors want to keep a check on everything.

Whilst we've been back in the UK, we've made a few trips, as you'll see from the lists below. Some of the stops have been very close to home and these have been really surprising and reminded us that you don't need to be the other side of Europe to have an adventure and find interesting places and people.

Here is a summary of our trips since we got back to the UK:

Trip 1 - Wiltshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire & Buckinghamshire

• 2 nights at Friars Court (Radcot)

• 2 nights at Yvette's mum and dad's house (Wickford)

• 2 nights at Cherry Hinton Campsite (Cambridge)

• 2 nights at Hill Farm Campsite (Wendover woods)

Trip 2 - Wiltshire & Somerset

• 2 nights at Bayardo Farm (Marlborough)

• 1 night at Steve's mum and dad's house (Highworth)

• 1 night at Witham Hall Farm (near Frome)

• 2 nights at Water Buffalo Farm (near Yeovil)

• 3 nights at Rowberrow Farm (near Cheddar Gorge)

Trip 3 - Northamptonshire & Cambridgeshire

• 2 nights at Land on the Hill CL (Upper Boddington)

• 2 nights at Sandy Hill Farm CL (Northampton)

• 2 nights at Boughton Estates CL (Grafton Underwood)

• 2 nights at Marina Field CL (Huntingdon)

We've been keeping busy and had a chance to spend some time with lots of friends and family, whilst we really love travelling it has been great to see people again!

I won't cover the last few months day by day but here are some pics of what we've been up to and the places we've been...

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We've done a lot of work in the garden... we left home at the end of January and got back mid-June, so we had a lot to cut back and clear...!

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Bear's been working hard to stay cool in the heatwaves... we found a place in Wendover woods that had dog ice cream but we've not managed to find it anywhere else, so we've been making frozen yoghurt with blueberries and banana for him at home!

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We climbed Glastonbury Tor and enjoyed some people watching in the town... a very interesting place to spend a few hours!

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Bear has been very helpful in the van... including diagnosing a fault with the water pump!

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We've stayed in some great places, had plenty of long walks and enjoyed some bike rides and even a little bit of paddle-boarding... more to come on bike rides in the next few weeks (I don't want to give too much away but I can say that Bear has found a new way to enjoy cycling).

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Bear found some time for dressing up...

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Evan and Harriett had a go at drone flying, they were both naturals and much better at flying than me... and we even saw the red arrows in the distance...

Bear didn't really get the concept of Go Outdoors and decided to disgrace himself and "Go" indoors... luckily the staff were very friendly and provided some paper towels so we could mop up!

A Father's Day drink by the river...

And a Moroccan brunch after spending the morning at the hospital...

I also took Bob on a walk around Headington to visit the resident shark...

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One of our favourite campsites was a ten minute walk from the local pub and had a battery powered outdoor shower with a view, not bad for £12 a night and we had the entire campsite to ourselves, in August!!

Bear found love... in a Tesco carpark!

I can't remember which walk this was... but Bear had a good time, however Yvette wasn't impressed!

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We spent a few hours exploring Wells and Cheddar Gorge... was very grateful for the e-bikes for the hills round here! (Sorry we didn't get any pics in Cheddar)

Bear caught up with his cousin Widget...

Yvette celebrated her Birthday with a trip to Cambridge and an ice cream sundae!

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And last but not least we got to meet some Water Buffalo (they were just a few meters away from our pitch) and sample some of their ice cream... highly recommended!